[POSTANDCOURIER] South Carolina's unemployment agency will lay off 100 employees in June as part of a statewide reorganization that directs anyone seeking jobless benefits to use its upgraded online system, the agency's interim director announced.
John Finan said the Department of Employment and Workforce will eliminate one-on-one help with unemployment claims on June 10, and the number of local offices offering job training and other re-employment services will shrink. Exactly how many of those 56 offices remain open past June will depend on decisions made by the state's 12 workforce investment boards, he said.
It comes two months after the ending of in-person unemployment help at 17 rural offices caused a backlash from legislators. Democrats particularly denounced the move as an attack on rural South Carolina, and the outrage culminated in the resignation of former Director Abraham Turner. |